TECH - EDUCATION
Introduction
As an elementary school teacher in Ontario, I know that the updated Ontario curriculum gives students the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to succeed in the future, no matter their path. According to a new elementary math curriculum, "real-life applications throughout the curriculum help pupils see math in their everyday lives.” “Children will learn to create and read infographics, create a budget, transfer money electronically, and code." Technology is all around us. We rely on it daily. On this website page, I'd like to talk about how students and learners will become acquainted with the phrase "technology." We have made great strides in becoming a high-tech civilization.
To use technology as a tool, we must be able to use the many technologies we find useful and helpful for our needs efficiently.
Why technology?
As a teacher of young children in the primary grades, I know that teaching students computational thinking prepares them for a digital and data-filled world that requires critical thinking, creativity, innovation, conceptual understanding in more traditional subject areas, and other 21st-century skill sets to get our students to access and explore their learning with technology and make them more employable for the jobs of the future.
Opportunities for self-directed learning foster academic engagement, self-efficacy, and tenacity by requiring students to define and pursue specific interests.
Interdisciplinary studies help students see how different fields can complement each other, offering a richer perspective on the world than any single discipline can provide.
Personalized learning ensures that students receive instruction and support tailored to their needs and responsive to their interests.
Connected learning encourages students to pursue opportunities to study outside their classrooms and campuses.
The use of diagnostic assessments that are embedded into learning and are formative for further learning and instruction. (Dede, 2014, p.2)
Why incorporate technology in teaching?
We must teach students about the technologies we can use (how it works) and enhance student academic achievement through technology (how to manipulate technology for specific use).
Teachers can create effective interactive learning environments that promote problem-solving and flexible thinking by integrating technology into mathematics classrooms. (2018, Picha)
Ways to use technology to facilitate critical thinking and problem-solving will be mentioned, along with examples of how they've been used. These resources are important in the classroom because they improve math for students with special needs and other learners. (Suh, 2010, p. 441)
Ways to use technology to facilitate critical thinking and problem-solving will be mentioned, along with examples of how they've been used. These tools are extremely important in a teaching career. (Suh, 2010, p. 442)
We usually think of technology as a new app or smartphone. Few consider how powerful educational technology can be. Technology is improving and updating teaching, even if you're not in school anymore.
Teachers and students utilize technology to make education smarter. Its industry is "EdTech."
During the pandemic, remote and hybrid learning school districts needed education technology even more than they did before. EdTech shouldn't distract pupils or modify the instructional plan. These tools make it easy for students and teachers to learn, no matter where they are.
EdTech makes learning exciting and effective by fitting into a class's lesson schedule. If the classroom technology you're using this year causes more difficulties than it solves, switch to something else. Today's education technology can help any remote or hybrid class.
What's EdTech?
Education technology promotes and accesses education. This includes technology, software, and other learning-related goods. Students can use these tools to go to class, work together, talk to other students far away, or study creatively inside or outside the classroom. EdTech is education technology.
EdTech Industry Education technology is expected to be worth $90 billion by 2020 and expand 20% annually through 2028. Analysts think there will be more Ed-Tech AI, AR, and VR products in the next few years. EdTech-based game-based learning has grown significantly in grades K–12, and project-based learning has also grown.
EdTech's importance
According to McKinsey & Company, Jake Bryant, Felipe Child, Emma Dorn, and Stephen Hall discovered that students with access to technology and high-speed internet fared and performed better in their learning. EdTech lets teachers promote hybrid learning, making the classroom more welcoming for all students.
The Advantages of Educational Technology
1. Educational technology maintains communication in hybrid classes.
Remote learning is an application of education technology where the advantages are most obvious. Ed-tech is needed for remote learning when you watch or listen to a lecture or seminar on your computer or phone. More people can access education when a video conference is set up for a class of students, allowing them to participate from anywhere.
2. Educational technology software enhances student productivity.
Remote learning now has a higher level of flexibility thanks to ed-tech tools. Students can use EdTech platforms to get to their work electronically, turn in assignments online, and learn at their own pace. These platforms give them access to various online courses and digital textbook libraries. All students can make their learning fit their needs by skipping ahead or going back over sections they don't understand.
3. EdTech aids in keeping teachers organized.
Teachers can digitally store videos, slide decks, and other educational resources on EdTech platforms. Later, access to these archives can be given to students and caregivers for independent review. It saves energy to not search through mountains of outdated paper resources to discover what you can use in your lessons. All classes that are taught remotely have the propensity to blend. Ed-Tech helps teachers in charge of several remote and hybrid classrooms be ready and organized for each new class and lesson.
Educational Technology Examples
Some well-known EdTech companies and products contribute to expanding classroom technology alternatives. These examples of education technology, like learning management systems, hardware like video conferencing cameras for the classroom, and educational gaming platforms, show how technology can be used in many different ways to help teach and learn:
Owl Meets
The Meeting Owl is a classroom video conferencing camera that supports hybrid collaboration. The Meeting Owl's 360-degree camera captures audio and video from everyone in the room.
Cengage
Cengage is an online textbook, course, and testing distributor. Cengage allows students to buy textbooks, take notes, and take quizzes. It's a one-stop shop for student learning resources.
Civitas Learning
Civitas Learning improves college student outcomes. Their systems track student data to discover which topics or areas they need help in and which they excel in.
Google Classroom
Google Classroom helps teachers organize student assignments and create a collaborative online learning environment. Educators can form classes, distribute and grade assignments, provide comments, and engage with students.
Kahoot!
Teachers can build Kahoot! quizzes on any topic for students to respond to. Students receive points for correct replies. It's a fun method to engage students in learning.
Apex Learning
Apex Learning has middle and high school online courses. Teachers assign them to augment students' studies and help those who need it.
Chegg
Chegg lets students buy or rent textbooks to save money. The website provides lessons, online tuition, and practice problems.
SMART Technologies
SMART Technologies creates technology solutions for schools and education. Most people buy the SMART Board, a computerized whiteboard for students and teachers. Drawings can be copied and studied. It's a whiteboard, projector screen, and computer.
Tools that help students and teachers learn and teach
Educational technology that helps students and teachers includes tools made just for education and tools that weren't made for teachers but are still useful for learning. For example, many schools use software like Microsoft Teams, which was made for professional teams but works well as a platform for video conferencing and working together
Some of the most popular tools used to help students and teachers with EdTech are:
Video conferencing cameras
Video meeting apps
Learning management platforms
Gaming apps
Digital whiteboards
Communication boards/discussion tools
Laptops, tablets, and projectors
Communication apps
Research platforms
Presentation and design software
Education technology is intended to enhance the learning experiences of all educators and students who participate in remote, hybrid, and even in-person learning. It is an industry that will continue to evolve as technology becomes more prevalent in our classrooms.
References:
Dede, C. (2014). The Role of Digital Technologies in Deeper Learning. Students at the Center: Deeper Learning Research Series. Jobs for the Future. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED561254.pdf
Picha G. (2018) Effective Technology use in Math Class. George Lucas Educational Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/effective-technology-use-math-class
Suh, J. M. (2010). Tech-knowledgy and diverse learners. Mathematics teaching in the middle school, 15(8), 440-447.